The Battle of the Beards: Beard Butter vs Beard Oil

Not all beards are created equal.

Some are thick and coarse, while others are thin and soft.

No matter how thick or thin your beard is though, it deserves to be treated right. And that means daily moisturizer.

When talking about moisturizing your beard, there are two main options: beard butter and beard oil.

On one hand, you’ve got beard oil – which is really the classic emolient. It’s a lightweight moisturizer that’s packed with nourishing ingredients like coconut oil, castor oil, jojoba oil, argan oil, and essential oils. Compared to beard butter, beard oil comes in liquid form.

On the other side of things, there’s beard butter. Beard butter is a thicker moisturizer that contains rich humectants, or ingredients that seal moisture into your skin and hair follicles. Common ingredients in beard butter include shea butter, cocoa butter, avocado oil, and grapeseed oil.

While beard oil works well too, what it's used for is slightly different. But don’t worry, we’ll cover the benefits, differences, and disadvantages of both products below.

Let’s start things off with beard butter.

As you know, beard butter is rich, thick, and sometimes creamy. It’s probably obvious, but you can think of its consistency as similar to butter (ok, you probably saw that coming).

Here are a few things that beard butter will do for your glorious facial hair:

The biggest benefit of beard butter, and beard oil for that matter, are the moisturizing properties.

You can thank the high-powered humectants for that.

Humectants trap moisture deep inside each individual hair fiber – giving your beard that long-lasting hydration it needs.

In turn, added moisture can change the hair texture of your beard. It will turn even the driest and most brittle beard into a soft and smooth surface your bearded friends will be jealous of.

So, if you want to ditch the prickles and unmanageable pokey ends of your beard, try beard butter. You can even try making your own.

If you’re anything like us, some mornings your beard hair is facing three different directions.

Maybe you’re in one of those awkward phases of beard growth, but, most likely, you just need to be using some beard butter.

That’s right, beard butter helps tame your beard – changing that wild Viking look into something that’s more appropriate for the office.

Lastly, beard butter has nourishing and revitalizing effects on your beard.

Even if you’ve suffered from hair breakage, thinning, or shedding beard butter has got your back.

That’s because of hair-healthy ingredients such as shea butter – which is rich in vitamin A, vitamin E, and fatty acids. In fact, both vitamins A and E can help promote hair growth – meaning your beard will not only be healthier, but also longer.

But, how do all these benefits compare to beard oil, which, after all, is another moisturizer? Next, let’s check out the benefits of using beard oils.

When talking about conditioners and moisturizers for your beard, most people think about beard oil (we know we do).

In fact, beard oil is one of the most popular products for beard care.

But why is this, and what does it do?

Just like beard butter, beard oil softens, moisturizes, and conditioners your beard.

Thanks to the lightweight formula, beard oil can provide hydration to the thinnest and the thickest of beards. That means no more dryness, less beard itch, and hopefully no beard dandruff.

That being said, it’s important to know when to apply beard oil. If you use it too often, your beard can become too hydrated and will look greasy. Thankfully, we know exactly when you should be using it.

Let’s face it, as great as a big beard looks, it can be hard to control.

So what do you do? How do you make it easier to style and manage your beard on a daily basis?

You use beard oil. It will keep your beard hairs easy to manage, style, and, the best part, tangle-free.

If you want that reflective shimmer in your beard that you see in magazines, on TV, and on Instagram, then you need to be using beard oil.

Because it’s lightweight and has a thinner consistency, beard oil can give your beard that perfect, healthy shine you’ve been looking for.

While beard butter still provides a wide range of benefits, it’s more easily absorbed into the skin underneath your beard and your hair – meaning it leaves your beard with a more subtle finish.

Have we sold you on that shiny appearance yet? If so, you might want to check out our True North Beard Oil. It uses high-quality, all-natural ingredients for the best, and shiniest, results.

In one corner, we have the heavyweight champion, beard butter. In the other, the lightweight champion, beard oil.

That’s right - the time has come to compare these two highly-effective moisturizers.

Here’s what you need to know:

The longer your beard is, the more product you’ll need to use to keep it moisturized.

In short, it’s easier to use beard oil for longer beards.

You’re probably wondering why this is… And the answer is (drumroll please) because it’s easier to apply.

For example, you can gently massage beard oil into your beard, no matter how thick or long it is. While you can still massage beard butter into your beard, the thicker consistency requires more product and more time.

So, what’s better for an extremely dry beard? What about a well-moisturized beard?

In all honesty, both of these products are better than nothing – however, you should choose beard butter if your beard is brittle or super dry, because it’s richer and thicker than beard oil. Just bear in mind that this makes it a little harder for your skin and hair to absorb, so a little goes a long way.

On the opposite side of things, if your beard is completely healthy, and already well-hydrated, beard oil should be your choice. It’s the perfect selection to maintain your moisture levels (and a wide range of other benefits).

Last, but certainly not least, what’s the best budget-friendly choice?

Ultimately you can find both beard butters and beard oils at a reasonable price.

For example, Scotch Porter has this high-quality beard butter for reasonable price. At the same time, you can find beard oils that are just as affordable.

So, no matter what type of beard care product you want, there are both budget-friendly and luxury options for you. It just takes some looking.

You’ve learned the benefits, and you’ve learned the differences.

Now it’s time to cover the disadvantages.

You’ll find the three most common drawbacks to beard oil and beard butter below:

Let’s start with the most common drawback: greasiness.

Beards get greasy when they have too much sebum – which is just a fancy term for the oil that your skin naturally produces.

If your beard is naturally oily, applying beard butter or beard oil can just make it greasier. This is especially true when using beard oil – as it doesn’t absorb into the skin as well as beard butter.

Second, many kinds of beard butter and beard oil use ingredients that you might be allergic to.

So, if you’re one of those dudes with sensitive or easily irritated skin, we recommend using an unscented beard oil (like Mountaineer Brand).

Unscented products are free from artificial and synthetic fragrances, as well as essential oils – all of which can contain irritants

To end things off, we should mention that beard oil just can’t moisturize as deeply as beard butter.

Don’t get us wrong, beard oil is still a fantastic product, but it doesn’t have the same rich consistency that allows beard butter to deeply nourish each strand.

To wrap things up, you really can’t go wrong if you’re using beard oil or beard butter.

While they both serve different scenarios better (beard butter for extreme dryness and beard oil for maintaining moisture), both are moisturizing, nourishing, and keep your beard hairs healthy.

With that being said, if you want a product that’s bound to increase your health, and maybe even beard growth, check out what we offer.

Here at Mission Beard, we’ve got high-quality beard oil, beard balm, and even boar bristle brushes. It’s seriously a one-stop shop for everything your beard needs.